Renovation work on Alvar Aalto’s Finlandia Hall has been completed in time for a public opening this weekend (Jan. 4) in Helsinki. Care for the landmark concert hall design was first handed over to Arkkitehdit NRT at the beginning of 2022 with a mandate to update the building as minimally as possible using new spatial and functional changes that can accommodate up to 400,000 visitors in the first year.

"Aalto’s architecture was the starting point to all that we did. The main spaces were not changed a lot. We thought that we have to make big changes ‘behind the scenes’ so that it does not show much in the finalized building," CEO and Partner Teemu Tuomi explains.

Some of the historically sensitive materials introduced through the renovations include patinated bronze and red beech ceramic tiles. In addition to some much-needed technology upgrades in the main hall, the new program adds dining and shopping spaces plus a two-unit residential component that offers fans of the Finnish master an overnight stay in which they can experience his architecture firsthand. 

The original facade panels on its exterior were restored, and an exhibition space was added to previously used as rehearsal areas. Skanska provided additional help to modernize the building's mechanical services, HVAC, and other services to afford a more energy-efficient operation for its next phase of life. Its more than 3,000 original lighting fixtures were also preserved as part of the renovation.

The project provided a unique opportunity and follow-up to Arkkitehdit NRT’s 2017 Finlandia Prize-winning restoration of Aalto’s Harald Herlin Learning Centre in Espoo. The building was originally completed in December of 1971. A new permanent exhibition on the life and architecture of Aalto and his wives Aino and Elissa will debut inside Finlandia Hall later this June.